Posted by Nadia on Jan 29, 2013 in Heart to Heart | 4 comments

 
Each new task feels like adding another burden on your back. Another chore, a bit more pain, mega anxiety. Don’t even get me started on the panic attacks. As soon as one deed is done, another is dealt your way. It just never seems to be enough.
 
What if you could feel as if you’re at the top of your game, on top of the world! The “burdens” become beautiful and exhilarating challenges that you get to add to your arsenal of awesomery. Yes, you’re that audacious!
 
What if I all you have to do to make that change is honor your past?
 
I recently had the displeasure of having my past life call back to me. The people in my old life thought I was still in the rut that they helped me into. And when I realized this, I laughed myself to sleep thinking that I had escaped a world of wires that they were still caught in. (It’s a shame though really.)
 
It made me see how far I’d come.
 
I have learned that you must be in a constant celebration of yourself. Look back and see when you did something good and blow it up in your mind. Tell yourself, “Holy crap, I am freaking awesome for doing/thinking/being that.”
 
No matter how small of a step you’ve made, honor it. Respect it. Alas, small steps are the only thing that really change us into who we want to be.
 
It’s about being proud of where you came from, where you been, where you fell, where you rose. You have to give yourself credit because it’s easier, funner, and a more beautiful process to add to the wealth of your being. Rather than pulling yourself down further by seeing only the negativity, only the burdens, only the pain. Give credit to your progress. It’ll be easier to do even more for yourself after that.
 

What have you yet to honor and give yourself credit for?

Posted by Nadia on Nov 28, 2012 in Heart to Heart | 2 comments

Let be honest. When you talk about your dreams, this is how it looks: the head lowers, the voice drops, and words like “sorta,” “kinda,” “ish” start blabbing out of your mouth. Our dreams are sometimes the biggest secrets we keep and we’re afraid of the world to discover them.

On the other side, you also know what it’s like when you talk about living up to society’s expectations. There’s this pride you get, a kind of worthless sort of pride that doesn’t really mean anything to you. You can see it in the way they talk, the way they flaunt it, with their head held high. I know that feeling very well because I used to act like that when I was pursuing medicine. When I would mention it, there would be the energy of expectation I would give off and I would get an energy of approval from people, friends, aunties, uncles, pretty much everyone. I was actually very much caught up in that feeling, it made me think I was doing it, doing life* right.

Until sense hit me, either that or insanity (as some of my friends voices insist of revealing half the time I talk to them about my business). I mean seriously, stop recommending me to a million jobs whenever I mention copywriting. *oh-so-subtle-but-not-really-hint* If the help was earnest, I appreciate it. Otherwise, you should have noticed, I stopped talking to you. *smile*

Dreams Aren’t Meant to Be Understood by Others

That’s because they’re YOUR dreams. Time and time again you hear of the has-been haters of some of the most successful people in the world. Need a reminder, check this out:

image is not mine, no idea where it came from, but it belongs to wherever it's from.

The only person who needs to understand your dreams is YOU. It’s the opinion of yourself that makes or breaks you. It’s the opinion of yourself that causes you to begrudging cough up your dreams or declaring them boldly, like a billy goat on a mountain…erm or not…

You, your ideas are worth exactly what you think they are. Be who you want to be, otherwise you’ll be, well, someone you don’t want to be. So, BE THE BILLY GOAT. BAHHH! Okay fine, maybe that’s not cool and you might freak people out. How about a DRAGON? RAWR.

Billy goat/Dragonify your dreams in the comments. What’s that secret you got?

Posted by Nadia on Oct 1, 2012 in Heart to Heart | 2 comments

When you have that feeling in your heart and in your mind, it’s quite overwhelming. The most ridiculous grin is stuck on your face, you heart races, your skin tingles, your mind fires from one thought to the other, you’re not exactly sure how you’re breathing… For me, I even giggle hysterically. That’s how I am when I think about my business. Oh and yes, I’m a crazy person and love every second of it.

Oh, what you thought I was going to admit a secret love, pah!

Now, it’s time to turn the tables. Is what I’ve just described how you feel when you think about your career? Is that how you feel when you think about your job? If the answer is yes, you’re a lucky duck.

If the answer is “no.” …Well, then why are you doing it? I mean I know I give a lot of backlash for professional schools, like being a doctor, only because I almost tricked myself into thinking that’s what I really wanted. When I realized it was NOT what inspired me and made me feel (yes) giddy, I knew I would last through it. But it wasn’t until four years of my undergraduate career for me to make the promise to myself to pursue only the things which inspired me.

When you’re on this side, you can see so much more. What I thought was once impossible became a shrug of …eh it’s probable, I can do it. I’ve promised myself to serve people, in the way I can do it best. It gives me the greatest fulfillment.

If you’ve gotten this far in my post, I HAVE to assume you want more from life. So, let’s do something, eh?

Carve out 1 hour from your week.

My journey into online entrepreneurship happened on a whim, with small increments of time I happened to have found myself dedicating to it. If you didn’t realize, by you reading this, you’re exactly where I was over a year ago. Because, yes, it took me a year to take the plunge. It’s scary, thrilling, and some people think you’re an idiot, like sky-diving.

Carve out one hour from your week and dedicate to figuring out what you would do, IF YOU BY CHANCE, wanted to start an online business. Just an hour a week to ruminate on it and mull it over. This means no T.V., no computer, only a pen and a notebook to write some ideas out. If you need some help figuring out what you like, love, or are interested in then just get my “Spark Your Goals” guide by signing up for updates.

Do it.

Pick the one hour, right now. Sunday’s from 1-2? Thursdays from 6-7? Carve it out now. Remind yourself my setting an alarm on your phone or sticking a piece of paper on the wall saying, “Taking a Risk on Myself.”

Always, remember it’s the sum of SMALL STEPS that make the journey. And enjoy each foot forward.

Now, what do you have to say about this? What’s your carved out time? What day of the week is it? Let me know, below!

Posted by Nadia on Sep 21, 2012 in Heart to Heart | 8 comments

They all go something like that. As young girls, we were raised on the stories of jilted women thrown into ruin. No wonder what women really want is their own financial security.

It is no bad thing to be prepared for the worst. The worst can come in a lot more forms than a broken marriage: the breadwinner may lose their job, health problems arise, or someone passes away. We pursue becoming a doctor, a lawyer, or what have you. When the job starts, it’s fabulous. Money’s coming in and the family’s happy.

But then the whole world puts itself on our shoulders. We’re pushed into this corner of having a professional career, be an amazing daughter, and eventually an doting mother. A true triple threat, maybe more so to ourselves. It’s not the easiest thing in the world. Women are expected to be perfect at everything, all the time. In reality, it’s hard to strike a balance. And to the women who do this, kudos. May you all be protected and keep as strong as you are and more.

Being a mom is something I’ve looked forward to my entire life. I want to be there for my kids every moment, I don’t want to miss a thing. But I also want a career. That’s why starting a home-based business made the most sense to me. I get to be at home with my kids, watch them grow, and see their first experiences of a world I’ve taken advantage of. At the same time, I get to do what I love, which is writing, and make good money from it. I get to have the best of both worlds. It’s also true that I fantasize traveling with my kids and teaching them about the world first hand, too.

If you pursued a home-based business, what would be your reason to do it?

Posted by Nadia on Sep 19, 2012 in Heart to Heart | 4 comments

I sat in a crowd of black robes with a square hat on my head and a tassle fluttering in the wind. I knew what was on everyone’s mind: the next phase of their carefully planned journey.  But for me, I just knew exactly what I DID NOT want to do. I was not going to use my degree at all. Back to square one for me and I couldn’t be more excited!

I spent four years pursuing a degree in Health Science. I did it because it was expected of me. I did it because I thought it would make my parents happy. I did it for everyone, but me. I know a lot of people would think it was a waste of time. But the truth is it wasn’t.

People aren’t built to execute plans. We’re not computers in that way. You don’t set a human program, run it, and die. Nope. We are meant to learn on our journey. And the most important and exciting thing to learn is about ourselves. I made a mistake in choosing health science. But the reality is, for a long time, I thought it was for me. Those four years helped me realize that although I was smart, although I could do it, I did not want to become a doctor.

Embrace Experimentation

Through those four years, my escape was the world of the internets. I dabbled her and there, quite everywhere. I actually learned a lot about myself through that time. What type of person I wanted to be and what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted time with the people I loved and to do the things I’ve always, which mainly includes learning languages, meeting people, archery, and riding horses, but we’ll leave that to another medium.

We all need to experiment with who we are and what we love. We won’t know what we will really like until we try it out. There’s no other way around it. You really need those years of, what some people call, being lost. When in actuality you’re just manifesting who you really are in that time. All the greatest people took the time to find what they were meant to do.

Here’s a great quote to leave your mind teeming: